Damen firms up tug contract with Qatar Emiri Naval Forces

Damen Shipyards Group has secured a contract with the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces (QENF) for the delivery of two ASD Tug 3212 vessels, the company announced on 20 January 2026.

The contract was announced at the DIMDEX 2026 defence exhibition, Doha, Qatar, from 19-22 January. It follows a memorandum of understanding signed by Damen and the QENF at the previous DIMDEX event in 2024 related to the delivery of auxiliary vessels.

Damen is constructing the two tugs at the Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam, with the shipyard noting that, as a result of its close co-operation the QENF, it was possible to begin building them early. One of the tugs is already under construction and will be delivered later this year, while a keel-laying ceremony for the second one was held in December 2025. That vessel is scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2027.

The ASD Tug 3212 is 32.7 m long with a beam of 12.82 m. It is capable of delivering 82.4 tonnes of bollard pull ahead and 77.4 tonnes astern. Damen has designed the vessel to provide outstanding seakeeping capabilities and manoeuvrability, as required by its function.

To ensure the tugs’ capability to support the QENF fleet both in port and offshore, Damen is outfitting the vessels with a range of options. Among these is an aft winch, a deck crane and Fire Fighting Class 1 (Fi-Fi 1) capabilities (allowing it to combat large-scale fires on other ships or platforms).

Jan-Jaap Eits, Damen’s regional sales director for the Middle East, was quoted as saying in a company press release, “Damen is honoured to receive this latest order from the Qatar Emiri Navy. The relationship between our two organisations is one that has endured for more than 40 years already. We are confident that these two ASD Tug 3212s will serve the Qatari fleet well and we look forward to continuing to provide our support during the vessels’ operational phase.”